Busted TRex

[jeepGold]

Has held up for about 6 months and I don't hunt in rock infested areas. I contacted the manufacturer and he will work with me on rewelding it stating that in 3 yrs no one has broken one.. I don't have the time to send it across the US and then have him send it mid way across the US to weld it then send it back to me... If local weld shops want to charge me an arm and a leg then I will but otherwise I won't. These scoops take abuse at the hand of what they do but that's what they are designed for.. all things fail after awhile I suppose and I found a local shop to do it for 45.00. Shipping would be that much and I need to get back to the beach. I didn't post this as a stab but only for awareness and to see if anyone else has had the same problem.

Has anyone else broken a TRex 9.5 at the welds?

 

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[Bumpstick]

(Link removed, not a supporting vendor) whichever the case, the beast model of the sand scoops should of held up. As you can tell from the above photo's I posted, the weld failed at the reinforcement and the welds along the body of the scoop didnt penetrate at all and appear to be almost cosmetic only. It sheared right down the line. No jagged marks indicate zero penetration.


View attachment 1185350

Thanks for the heads up I will keep an eye on mine it doesn't have the reinforced angles welded on the handle base.
My friends has the extra bracing he pointed that out to me.
I can take it to work and stainless MIG weld it if it starts to come apart.
Our Reefer Semi Trailers have lots of stainless on the rear and bumpers.
My brother has the TIG welder at his shop that I do the custom exhaust work with.

 

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[jeepGold]

I sent him an email minutes B4 I called and he was looking at the pix as we spoke...

 

[lookindown]

I sent him an email minutes B4 I called and he was looking at the pix as we spoke...

After seeing those pics he should have sent you a new scoop and told you to send that broke one to him to inspect.

 

[carlos006]

My T Rex 9.5 suffered a welding seam failure. Complete separation on one side and the other is showing signs of fatigue. I purchased the sccop on 12/6/15. The manufacturer will repair the scoop but I have to pay for shipping from California What are your thoughts? Sorry but I just need to vent!!! Not happy about spending so much money on a scoop to have it fail in less then a year. It was difficult to justify the purchase and now with shiiping cost it became that more expensive! !!!

 

[Fletch88]

Sell it and get the 720i. It's much lighter also

 

[carlos006]

That may be in order after I get it back

 

[Kapidr]

My T-Rex just over a year old but used almost daily broke in the exact same way - I had a friend locally weld it. Granted I dig in wet sand but do from time to time try to dig a ship out of the deep areas and have broken 3 wood handles doing so.

 

[plymouthian12]

Seems like all the scoops I've used break also haven't found one yet that hasnt

 

[carlos006]

I wonder what would be least expensive having it welded locally or shipping it. Something is just not right when you spend that much on a scoop and having to deal with it failing in the same structure area. Possible design problem ?

 

[plymouthian12]

I think a lot of it is because they grind the weld off to make it look pretty

 

[carlos006]

It should be built for durability not looks!!! I have yet to have someone come up to me and say "nice scoop"

 

[plymouthian12]

Even the 720i breaks

 

[jeepGold]

All 3 of ours broke in the same spots. The welds are puny. After taking it to a local shop and having it welded CORRECTLY for more money....it's holding up . I wouldn't buy another one or recommend it to anyone. that's for sure..I've since NOT done full scoop digs. I do half scoop digs now.

 

[Fletch88]

They will all break eventually due to hertzian fatigue of the welded areas. It's like bending a paper clip back and forth repeatedly until the metal eventfully will fail. I could build my own that would hold up but it would be so heavy and I would have way more time involved in building it that it's not worth it to me.

 

[jeepGold]

That's great , but I had mine 2 months. Not digging rocks or pebble beaches and not abusing it... I had called the business owner and he acted like he had NEVER heard of ANYONE EVER breaking one, basically insinuating that I was either lying or simply abusing it. He half heartily said to return it to him "Florida from San Diego." My dime. Then he would send it to his welder in Pennsylvania to review/repair. Then send it back to me. My dime.. SCREW THAT. That would be what ? 3 wks give or take? In the middle of summer, On my dime? That would be about 70.00+ - in shipping. Then he would "determine" if it was design or user abuse. WTH>... At 200.00 for a "heavy duty" wet sand shovel to snap when I wasn't even in the wet! I was in the high tide wet line that was semi packed.

Yes all things will fail. No doubt. It's the duration of time of use and the level of usage that put a serious sour taste in my mouth towards referral or future purchase. Not to mention the tongue in cheek attitude I was given over the phone.
And the TreX 9.5 aint light!

 

[jeepGold]

My T Rex 9.5 suffered a welding seam failure. Complete separation on one side and the other is showing signs of fatigue. I purchased the sccop on 12/6/15. The manufacturer will repair the scoop but I have to pay for shipping from California What are your thoughts? Sorry but I just need to vent!!! Not happy about spending so much money on a scoop to have it fail in less then a year. It was difficult to justify the purchase and now with shiiping cost it became that more expensive! !!!

If you want it done RIGHT I'd say locally at a weld shop. You can talk to them, see what your getting back, not pay for shipping, won't have to wait 2 wks and not end up getting it back from the same welder that poorly welded it in the 1st place. Took me 45 minutes to go on google, find a local guy, go there, have him weld it for about 45 bucks, and get back to swinging the detector..
I would of preferred to simply get a refund because the craftsmanship sucked, but time is more valuable to me than sending it back waiting and hoping for a refund. I wouldn't care for a replacement because it's like getting another lemon from the same tree... still a lemon.
Unless the owner fixes/fires his cheap welding source I don't give it any positive feedback.

 

[flgliderpilot]

$45? I'd have paid the $8 for shipping, and purchased a different scoop in the meantime. Then sold the old scoop when it came back repaired or replaced.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Im sure its a great scoop, but just looking at it seems like it has a few different places it could fail. The one I use is RTG 7" scoop, its a little heavy, but seems like it could get run over by a semi and nothing would happen

 

[jeepGold]

$45? I'd have paid the $8 for shipping, and purchased a different scoop in the meantime. Then sold the old scoop when it came back repaired or replaced.

Even of the shipping were free, if I weren't somewhat local I wouldn't send it to the guy..

 

[Irishgoldhound]

I've heard rave reviews of the T-Rex scoop but to me I can tell it's a weaker design of the bunch and even compared to some that cost less which are similar, tougher and better designed. On the T-Rex, all the force from prying is being pulled from the top and sides of the scoop with not much support at the back of the scoop at the base of the insert. All the torque when pulling back is being strained unevenly in my opinion. The scoops that are made with stems welded in front and directly behind the handle insert are more rigid and the base can withstand more prying and the torque on the scoop being exerted from prying back is more evenly isolated. Here is a scoop I bought and have used 3 seasons now in hard packed gravel, wet sand and many times digging in rocky areas. The scoop is very tough and well designed. I got this one from Indiana beach scoops on eBay for $139.00. Good luck guys!